Seahawks get thunderous win over 49ers, 29-3

Originally published September 15, 2013 at 11:29 pm
Updated September 16, 2013 at 1:31 am

The 12th Man screamed its way into the record books on Sunday, reaching 136.6 decibels in the third quarter, breaking the Guinness record of 131.76, set in Turkey.

Marshawn Lynch reacts after casually walking into the end zone for his second touchdown of the night, which put Seattle ahead 19-3.

Marshawn Lynch struts into the end zone for a 14-yard rushing touchdown that put the Seahawks ahead 12-0 after the opening possession of the second half.

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The waiting, it turns out, was the hardest part for the Seahawks.

And not just a one-hour delay after lightning struck near CenturyLink Field forced officials to stop the game for the safety of players and fans.

The Seahawks also couldn’t wait for Sunday’s game against San Francisco to arrive after listening to what they felt were a string of slights throughout the week from pundits praising the 49ers and predicting doom for Seattle.

“A lot of things said this week that we didn’t really appreciate,’’ said cornerback Richard Sherman, who helped lead a dominating defense that powered the Seahawks to a surprisingly easy 29-3 win over the 49ers in an early-season battle for supremacy in the NFC West, if not the NFC.

Reminded of some national pundits who picked against the Seahawks, Sherman responded with: “You see how smart they are? They must not have watched the last game we played them.”

That was a reference to Seattle’s 42-13 win over the 49ers at CenturyLink Field last December.

This one, in front of a crowd of 68,338 that was a record to witness a Seahawks game at CenturyLink Field, took a little longer.

It was tied at 0-0 when play was suspended with 3:13 left in the first quarter, fans uneasy both at the weather and some sluggish moments by the Seattle offense early.

The Seahawks, though, hardly seemed concerned — Sherman said he listened to music and danced with other members of the defense during the break.

And when play resumed, Seattle dominated.

Fittingly, the defense scored first, on a safety on a holding call early in the second quarter.

A field goal made it 5-0 at halftime, and in the locker room, Seattle figured that might be good enough.

“We knew we could win a game 5-0 because, playing our base stuff, they couldn’t do anything against us,” said Seahawks safety Earl Thomas. “That was just a great feeling to have.”

The offense, though, got on track to begin the second half, going on 10-play, 80-yard drives each of the first two times it had the ball.

Marshawn Lynch capped each with touchdowns, the first a 14-yard run through the middle of the 49ers defense, the second a 7-yard pass from Russell Wilson. On the latter, he tiptoed into the end zone, literally stopping at the goal line for a second or two with no 49er defender within reach.

The second Lynch score made it 19-3 early in the fourth quarter and pretty much ended the drama in Seattle’s ninth straight win at home.

And at that point, the game was in hand with Seattle’s defense proving impenetrable, allowing only a 207 yards and a lone field goal against a 49er team that gained 494 yards and scored 34 points against Green Bay last week.

“We did everything we needed to do on defense,’’ said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. “We had a great night on defense.’’

That included Sherman leading the effort to hold down San Francisco receiver Anquan Boldin to just one catch for 7yards.

Sherman said he asked to be allowed to guard Boldin as often as possible, straying from the usual Seattle tactic of leaving cornerbacks on their designated side regardless of where a receiver lines up.

Sherman had one of Seattle’s three interceptions — fittingly, the other two were by Kam Chancellor and Thomas, meaning each of the three healthy Legion of Boom defenders (Brandon Browner was out with a hamstring injury) got a pick against San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick took the blame largely on himself, saying, “We are not going to win games if I play like that.”

Added 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh: “I’m certainly not proud of the way we played tonight or coached. It was not our finest hour.”

Seattle has outscored the 49ers 71-16 its latest two wins over the 49ers.

And every stat gave evidence of Seattle’s dominance.

A running game that was held to 70 yards against Carolina a week ago had 172 on Sunday, with Lynch getting 98 on 28 attempts and scoring three touchdowns, two on the ground.

The 49ers, meanwhile, had just 100.

And Seattle held the ball for 36 minutes and 43 seconds, including 31:30 in the final three quarters.

A crowd that appeared to return en masse after the hour-long break loved every minute of it, breaking a Guinness record for stadium noise.

Carroll had no trouble believing the mark was broken, saying he had never heard it as loud and beginning his postgame comments by saying, “What an amazing night.”

Amazing, maybe, but none of it was a surprise to the Seahawks, even if it might have been to others.

“Did we lose?” asked Sherman after being asked again about some of the pundits who picked the 49ers. “We did what we expected to do.”

Carroll vs. Harbaugh

Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh’s teams have played eight times in college and the NFL. Harbaugh leads 5-3, but Carroll’s Seahawks have won two straight:

Year

Result

2007

Stanford 24, USC 23

2008

USC 45, Stanford 23

2009

Stanford 55, USC 21

2011

49ers 33, Seahawks 17

2011

49ers 19, Seahawks 17

2012

49ers 13, Seahawks 6

2012

Seahawks 42, 49ers 13

2013

Seahawks 29, 49ers 3

Carroll vs. Harbaugh

Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh’s teams have played eight times in college and the NFL. Harbaugh leads 5-3, but Carroll’s Seahawks have won two straight:

Year

Result

2007

Stanford 24, USC 23

2008

USC 45, Stanford 23

2009

Stanford 55, USC 21

2011

49ers 33, Seahawks 17

2011

49ers 19, Seahawks 17

2012

49ers 13, Seahawks 6

2012

Seahawks 42, 49ers 13

2013

Seahawks 29, 49ers 3

Carroll vs. Harbaugh

Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh’s teams have played eight times in college and the NFL. Harbaugh leads 5-3, but Carroll’s Seahawks have won two straight: